The Federal Government has approved the dredging of the Lekki Deep Seaport, a move aimed at boosting Nigeria’s maritime capacity and positioning the country to benefit from larger transshipment volumes across West Africa.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, announced the approval during an official visit to the facility over the weekend. According to Dantsoho, the federal government will deepen the port channel from its current 16.5 meters to 17 meters, with a long-term ambition of reaching 19 meters. The project will be executed in partnership with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), following a series of consultations with stakeholders.

“The rise in throughput volume at Lekki Port is exciting to us,” Dantsoho said. “Lekki’s capacity to berth super post-Panamax vessels and deliver rapid cargo and vessel turnaround positions it as a game-changer for Nigeria’s export competitiveness, particularly for agro-allied products.”

He added that the Lekki Port’s distinctive features, including full automation and integrated cargo handling systems, will strengthen the country’s position under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Dantsoho also revealed that the NPA had awarded a contract for a hydrographic survey of the channel, a prerequisite for the port’s navigation compliance with international maritime standards.

Since its commercial operations began in April 2023, the Lekki Deep Seaport, Nigeria’s largest, has been promoted as a transformative project. Designed to handle 6 million TEUs annually, the port is envisioned to reduce cargo pressure on Lagos’s overstretched Apapa and Tin Can ports. But for many industry observers, simply expanding Lekki does not solve the country’s deeper infrastructural imbalance.

Lagos-Centric Model Under Fire

But while the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) touts the approval as a milestone for economic competitiveness, the development has also reignited longstanding calls for the decentralization of Nigeria’s port infrastructure. This is a debate that continues to expose deep-rooted concerns about regional economic exclusion and Lagos-centric planning.

Economist Kelvin Emmanuel, in a note, said the persistent congestion in Lagos is a symptom of poor strategic planning and political manipulation of port development across the country.

“The congestion in [Lagos] cannot be solved until the government gets serious about allowing all the ports to operate freely,” Emmanuel said.

He noted that Nigeria’s eastern maritime corridor — home to ports like Onne, Calabar, Warri, and the long-stalled Ibaka Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom — has been neglected for years, even as Lagos’s logistical infrastructure continues to choke under rising cargo volumes.

“Lies they tell Nigerians that Lagos is the best place to site port operations in Nigeria. And that all commerce starts and ends in Lagos — wicked lies! If you don’t diversify port operations to the eastern maritime corridor and build vertically integrated standard gauge rail lines, you’ll not see inclusive growth,” Emmanuel added.

According to him, the dysfunctional state of port infrastructure outside Lagos is not accidental.

“I have made my findings and it’s Abuja that is holding the Ibaka Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom from moving forward,” he said. “You cannot claim to be progressive and restrict maritime operations to the Western Flank. It’s dishonest.”

At the heart of the debate is the call for a more balanced distribution of Nigeria’s maritime economy. Emmanuel argued that political interests have locked out states in the South-East and North-East from benefiting fully from Nigeria’s international trade activities.

“Decentralize port operations to the eastern maritime corridor so the South East and North East can benefit,” he said. “Remove the port categorization of Onne as E&P [Exploration & Production], so the fees for non-oil and gas cargoes will enable it to compete with Lagos. Governance that’s not structurally fair to all is dishonest.”

The Onne Port in Rivers State, for instance, is currently designated primarily for oil and gas-related cargoes — a classification that raises costs for non-oil trade and limits the port’s competitiveness. Some say this categorization must be scrapped if Onne and similar ports are to play a meaningful role in decongesting Lagos.

The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, led by Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, has in recent months pushed to modernize Nigerian ports, with a focus on full automation and the eventual implementation of the National Single Window (NSW) for port logistics. But experts say these reforms must go beyond infrastructure upgrades and embrace a structural shift in how the country approaches port distribution.

With Nigeria aiming to become a regional maritime hub under AfCFTA, the dredging approval for Lekki Deep Seaport has once again reignited the pressure on the federal government to address port imbalance – not just as a policy matter – but as a structural injustice that hinders economic inclusion across the federation.

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President Bola Tinubu has formally asked the National Assembly to approve a new wave of borrowing—seeking $21.5 billion in external loans, a N758 billion bond issuance, and an additional $2 billion in domestic borrowing—to finance critical infrastructure and offset long-standing pension arrears.

The request, read during Tuesday’s Senate plenary, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, which is expected to report back within two weeks.

In his letter to the legislature, President Tinubu explained that the proposed borrowings were necessary to finance key sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, health, education, and water supply. He further requested legislative approval to issue bonds in the domestic market worth N757.9 billion to settle outstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The president said the request is to enable the Federal Government to meet its obligations to retired public servants and to support the implementation of major infrastructure projects that will drive growth and job creation.

This is not the first such appeal by the Tinubu administration. A separate request was also sent to the House of Representatives seeking approval for the revised 2025–2026 external borrowing plan. Under this plan, the government is looking to secure $21.5 billion, €2.2 billion, ¥15 billion in Japanese yen, and a €65 billion grant. The House Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, read the letter on the floor and referred it to the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management for further review.

Mounting Debt Profile and Soaring Debt Servicing

The fresh requests come at a time Nigeria’s public debt burden is rising rapidly, triggering alarm from economists, financial watchdogs, and ordinary citizens.

According to the data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt as of December 31, 2024, stood at N144.7 trillion (approximately $94.2 billion). Of this amount, N74.4 trillion is domestic debt, while N70.3 trillion is external.

Even more worrisome is the cost of servicing the debt. In 2023, the country spent N7.8 trillion on debt servicing—more than double the N3.52 trillion spent in 2022. That figure soared to N13.12 trillion in 2024, reflecting a 68 percent rise within a single year.

These figures show that Nigeria is increasingly spending more to service existing loans than on capital projects. It also signals a deeper structural weakness: the country is not generating enough revenue to meet its obligations. Analysts warn that such a trend is unsustainable and could crowd out spending on critical sectors like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Borrowing for Consumption, Another Concern

Beyond the sheer size of Nigeria’s debt, another growing concern is how the borrowed funds are being utilized. Many have long pointed out that Nigeria borrows heavily to fund recurrent expenditure or service arrears, rather than to build capital projects that can stimulate the economy and generate returns.

This concern is not unfounded. The Tinubu administration’s new borrowing request includes a N758 billion domestic bond specifically earmarked for settling pension liabilities—a noble gesture on its own but one that falls under consumption, not investment.

A financial expert, Mr. Babatunde Salami, has cautioned both the federal and state governments against borrowing from the capital market for consumption. In an interview with VON, Salami said government at all levels should only borrow for capital projects whose capital returns would pay for the borrowed fund.

While President Tinubu’s request has now been submitted to the appropriate legislative committees, it is likely to be approved, though, several lawmakers have previously expressed concern over the country’s borrowing spree, especially without a clear repayment plan or project-specific transparency.

Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) earlier this year, expressed concern that the government is borrowing for consumption.

Ndume said, “Let me say that I am not against borrowing, America, Japan, China and other big countries do borrow.

“They (Nigerian government) borrow for fiscal, tangible and accountable projects, which they pay back over time. But my worry is what they borrow for.”

If approved, the proposed borrowings will push Nigeria’s total public debt beyond the N150 trillion mark. And with debt servicing costs already consuming a significant chunk of government revenue, concerns remain over how the administration intends to manage fiscal stability in the long term.